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Christina Lake property taxes to go up in 2021, says regional district

The increase amounts to roughly $30 over last year’s taxes, for properties worth $200,000
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The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary’s top administrator said Area ‘C’s the tax bump shows Christina Lake has weather the COVID-19 pandemic reasonably well. File photo

Property taxes in the Christina Lake area are set to rise by over 3 per cent in 2021, according to financials released by the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) Monday, Jan. 25.

READ MORE: RDKB publishes financial breakdown for 2019

The RDKB’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Mark Andison, said taxes on Area ‘C’ properties assessed at $200,000 will run slightly more than $1,000 this year, a roughly $30 increase over 2020, or 3.1 per cent. Andison said the increase partly reflects lost revenue from Grand Forks and District Recreation facilities amid the COVID-19 pandemic and higher building inspection costs in Area ‘C’, which includes Christina Lake.

Annual building inspection costs are based on the value of construction projects two years before each budget year. Significant building projects in Christina Lake in 2019 drove up this year’s building inspection costs, he explained.

Decreased revenues were somewhat offset by impacts of the pandemic which Andison said saved the RDKB money, such as on fuel expenditures. Area ‘C’ has meanwhile received a $489,000 COVID-restart grant from the provincial and federal governments that will be put toward economic losses due to the pandemic.

“Our bottom line impact due to COVID has been relatively small compared to other local governments,” he said.


 

@ltritsch1
laurie.tritschler@grandforksgazette.ca

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